Year's grace for free faith school travel

A TEMPORARY reprieve on axing free school transport for faith schools has been seen as cold comfort by Doreen Cronin, principal of St Richard's Catholic College, Bexhill.

Though relieved that East Sussex County Council has delayed changes until the end of the present academic year to avoid disrupting older pupils’ studies, she is still far from happy about future prospects.

She told the Observer: “Many of our families will struggle to meet transport costs due to their financial circumstances.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It seems so unfair that such families will be denied the faith-based education they desire because they are just above the low-income category and cannot afford the fares.”

She said the county council should remember that it had agreed to the siting of a Catholic secondary school in Bexhill, close to transport routes so as to cover a wide catchment area.

And she reminded the authority that faith schools contributed 10 per cent of building and maintenance costs, and also paid their own rates, which she claimed should have been taken into consideration.

Miss Cronin said: “Younger pupils, those in years seven to nine, feel let down as they remain under threat of having to move to a local school if their parents can no longer afford to send them to St Richard’s.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I am hoping that there will be meaningful dialogue between the council, the two dioceses and the schools most affected to ensure that less-advantaged families are supported to receive a faith-based education.”

The need for savings arises from Government cuts in the non ring-fenced £627,000 area based grant to East Sussex County Council that helps fund a total school transport budget of £11.5 million.

Delaying the end of subsidised transport for faith schools means the council will have to tighten its belt elsewhere, affecting other services that it provides.

It must save £192,000 from its budget this year, and more in years to come. Removing the discretionary support for faith school transport could save £500,000 a year. 1,350 pupils attend faith schools countywide.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Free transport for pupils living more than two miles from their primary school or three from a secondary school will not be affected. Nor will free transport for families on low incomes, or children with special needs.

Cllr Keith Glazier, Lead Member for Children’s and Adults’ Services, said:” We need to be clear that compromise comes at a real cost, and the money we now won’t save this year will have to be found from somewhere else.”

He added: “We are not discriminating against church schools. While this policy change is primarily about saving money, it will also make the policy fairer to all.

“We do not provide funding support for parents who choose not to send their child to a local school for any other reason - they have to pay the full transport costs.

“Only church school parents currently benefit from our support in this way.”